Adolescent literature is written and marketed specifically for teens. It generally contains a limited number of teenage characters in order to make the material easier for adolescents to follow. Whereas there might be adult characters involved, they usually are background figures rather than the focal character of a literary work. Adult literature may sometimes contain teenage protagonists as is found in classics such as Mark Twain's "Huckleberrry Finn" or Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women," but these were written originally for an adult audience. Popular adult fiction by Danielle Steele or Stephen King, for example, have adult characters and are marketed to an adult audience.
Adolescent literature deals with teenage problems. These include real concerns such as coming of age, family issues, bullying, suicide, anorexia, drugs and drinking, for example. Abusive relationships is a possible theme. These don't pretend to be appropriate for adults. "The Watsons go to Birmingham --- 1963" by Christopher Curtis describes a family visit to Grandma in Birmingham, Ala., and talks about racial prejudice that the adolescents experienced. Also, "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon Draper deals with a young man who after drinking and then driving kills his best friend." Another example is "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton, which details a fight between rival teenage groups. By comparison, adult literature tends to deal with romance as found, for instance, in the Danielle Steele novels. The John Grisham books emphasize legal cases in society as seen in "The Confession." This story revolves around an adult, who because of police coercion, gives a false confession and goes through a series of procedures to try to proclaim his innocence.
The differences between the two forms of literature is obvious in the use of language. Adolescent literature may use slang expressions that are used in their social circles. Adult literature may be more graphic in sexual terminology or situations. Vocabulary used in the adult works is more sophisticated than that used for teens.
Many adolescent books are designed to teach a lesson or promote good behavior. For example, "The Bitter End" by Jennifer Brown shows that dating violence or abusive language used by a date are real problems. Adolescent literature can be therapeutic and can aid a teenager in improving peer and family relationships as well as in coping with other serious issues such as bullying. By identifying with the protagonist, a teen may gain insight into a problem and consider the various solutions presented in the literary work. The problems facing teens and adults are not similar, and each literary category addresses that which is appropriate for its reading audience. Many adult works are designed for pleasure reading rather than teaching purposes.
Adolescent poetry is generally simple and straightforward without difficult metaphors for interpretation. Narratives are common. By contrast, look at Robert Frost's, "The Road Not Taken," an adult poem. Here the roads are not paved areas a teenager would take to go from home to school, for example. Rather, the road is a metaphor for the road of life. When the protagonist reaches the fork in the road, he is symbolically faced with the decisions and choices found in life. (Reference 4)